Pam Knox
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Florida watermelon farmers are still assessing the impacts of the January 30 freeze that affected many parts of the state. At this point, producers are still determining how much damage to the plants has occurred, and it does not appear that the overall damage was devastating, but some production could be set back by cold…
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The latest Drought Monitor, released today, shows that abnormally dry (D0) conditions have expanded to cover more than 40% of the region, and moderate drought (D1) has been introduced to or expanded in every state except for Virginia. The presence of high pressure over the region coupled with warm temperatures and little rain led to…
Posted in: Drought -
A wind rose is a diagram that displays the frequency of winds from different directions in a wheel-shaped graph. The North Carolina State Climate Office noted this week that they have a new tool to generate wind roses for weather stations around the state. This information can be used for air quality, controlled burns, severe…
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Some new research coming out of the University of Zurich suggests that the warming we are seeing over the Arctic is have consequences for subtropical areas of East Asia. Using models and observations, the scientists found that changes in the atmospheric weather patterns have been leading to cooler winters there, causing reductions in crop yield…
Posted in: Climate science -
A new study published January 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the effect of increasing humidity may be at least as important to changes in climate as the rise in temperatures we are seeing now. We can already see impacts in the more rapid rise of overnight low temperatures…
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This week, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released their latest 3-month climate outlook for the United States. What does this mean for conditions in the Southeast in the coming growing season? The CPC outlook shows a continuation of the current La Niña pattern of warmer and drier conditions across the Southeast that has occurred over most…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
After a fairly quiet weekend across the Southeast, rain chances will really ramp up for northern areas, especially along the Appalachians, with heaviest amounts coming mid-week. Meanwhile, southern regions will see no rain at all as they will be under the influence of high pressure. Week 2 looks like it will be fairly cool and…
Posted in: Climate outlooks